The Evolution of Human Wisdom

The Evolution of Human Wisdom PDF Author: Celia Deane-Drummond
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498548466
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
This volume tackles crucial questions about the puzzle of human origins and human distinctiveness related to the evolution of human wisdom. In doing so it offers a novel methodological approach to the dialogue between theology and evolutionary science.

The Evolution of Human Wisdom

The Evolution of Human Wisdom PDF Author: Celia Deane-Drummond
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498548466
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
This volume tackles crucial questions about the puzzle of human origins and human distinctiveness related to the evolution of human wisdom. In doing so it offers a novel methodological approach to the dialogue between theology and evolutionary science.

Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology

Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology PDF Author: Celia Deane-Drummond
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000033899
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book sets out some of the latest scientific findings around the evolutionary development of religion and faith and then explores their theological implications. This unique combination of perspectives raises fascinating questions about the characteristics that are considered integral for a flourishing social and religious life and allows us to start to ask where in the evolutionary record they first show up in a distinctly human manner. The book builds a case for connecting theology and evolutionary anthropology using both historical and contemporary sources of knowledge to try and understand the origins of wisdom, humility, and grace in ‘deep time’. In the section on wisdom, the book examines the origins of complex decision-making in humans through the archaeological record, recent discoveries in evolutionary anthropology, and the philosophical richness of semiotics. The book then moves to an exploration of the origin of characteristics integral to the social life of small-scale communities, which then points in an indirect way to the disposition of humility. Finally, it investigates the theological dimensions of grace and considers how artefacts left behind in the material record by our human ancestors, and the perspective they reflect, might inform contemporary concepts of grace. This is a cutting-edge volume that refuses to commit the errors of either too easy a synthesis or too facile a separation between science and religion. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of religious studies and theology – especially those who interact with scientific fields – as well as academics working in anthropology of religion.

Religion in Human Evolution

Religion in Human Evolution PDF Author: Robert N. Bellah
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674063090
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 777

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Book Description
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An ABC Australia Best Book on Religion and Ethics of the Year Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Religion in Human Evolution is a work of extraordinary ambition—a wide-ranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution. “Of Bellah’s brilliance there can be no doubt. The sheer amount this man knows about religion is otherworldly...Bellah stands in the tradition of such stalwarts of the sociological imagination as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Only one word is appropriate to characterize this book’s subject as well as its substance, and that is ‘magisterial.’” —Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review “Religion in Human Evolution is a magnum opus founded on careful research and immersed in the ‘reflective judgment’ of one of our best thinkers and writers.” —Richard L. Wood, Commonweal

Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) PDF Author: Darcia Narvaez
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393709671
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
Winner of the Inaugural Expanded Reason Award: A wide-ranging exploration of the role of childhood experiences in adult morality. Moral development has traditionally been considered a matter of reasoning—of learning and acting in accordance with abstract rules. On this model, largely taken for granted in modern societies, acts of selfishness, aggression, and ecological mindlessness are failures of will, moral problems that can be solved by acting in accordance with a higher rationality. But both ancient philosophy and recent scientific scholarship emphasize implicit systems, such as action schemas and perceptual filters that guide behavior and shape human development. In this integrative book, Darcia Narvaez argues that morality goes “all the way down” into our neurobiological and emotional development, and that a person’s moral architecture is largely established early on in life. Moral rationality and virtue emerge “bottom up” from lived experience, so it matters what that experience is. Bringing together deep anthropological history, ethical philosophy, and contemporary neurobiological science, she demonstrates where modern industrialized societies have fallen away from the cultural practices that made us human in the first place. Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality advances the field of developmental moral psychology in three key ways. First, it provides an evolutionary framework for early childhood experience grounded in developmental systems theory, encompassing not only genes but a wide array of environmental and epigenetic factors. Second, it proposes a neurobiological basis for the development of moral sensibilities and cognition, describing ethical functioning at multiple levels of complexity and context before turning to a theory of the emergence of wisdom. Finally, it embraces the sociocultural orientations of our ancestors and cousins in small-band hunter-gatherer societies—the norm for 99% of human history—for a re-envisioning of moral life, from the way we value and organize child raising to how we might frame a response to human-made global ecological collapse. Integrating the latest scholarship in clinical sciences and positive psychology, Narvaez proposes a developmentally informed ecological and ethical sensibility as a way to self-author and revise the ways we think about parenting and sociality. The techniques she describes point towards an alternative vision of moral development and flourishing, one that synthesizes traditional models of executive, top-down wisdom with “primal” wisdom built by multiple systems of biological and cultural influence from the ground up.

The Evolved Nest

The Evolved Nest PDF Author: Darcia Narvaez, PhD
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1623177685
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
A fascinating look into nurturing and parenting in the natural world, supplemented with original illustrations For readers of Becoming Animal and World of Wonders A beautiful resource for Nature advocates, parents-to-be, Animal lovers, and anyone who seeks to restore wellbeing on our planet, The Evolved Nest reconnects us to lessons from the Animal world and shows us how to restore wellness in our families, communities, and lives. Each of 10 chapters explores a different animal’s parenting model, sharing species-specific adaptations that allow each to thrive in their “evolved nests.” You’ll learn: How Wolves build an internal moral compass How Beavers foster a spirit of play in their children How Octopuses develop emotional and social intelligence How, when, and whether (or not) Brown Bears decide to have children What their lessons can teach you--whether you’re a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or childfree Psychologists Drs. Darcia Narvaez and Gay Bradshaw show us how each evolved nest offers inspiration for reexamining our own systems of nurturing, understanding, and caring for our young and each other. Alongside beautiful illustrations, stunning scientific facts, and lessons in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, we learn to care deeper: to restore our innate place within the natural world and fight for an ecology of life that supports our flourishing in balance with Nature alongside our human and non-human family.

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature PDF Author: Chet Shupe
Publisher: Bookbaby
ISBN: 9781667865850
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Shupe's book goes beyond self-help. It reveals how our emotional connections to one another have been severed, by our dependence on legal systems. Shupe reminds us that humans once lived in a state of contentment, because they depended on each other to survive. But our current dependence on legal systems has deprived us of our greatest need--to love and to be loved by our fellow man. Shupe's book informs us of something modern people fail to grasp: We humans do have an inborn wisdom, endowed by evolution. It is essential to our happiness, and to the wellbeing of life, that we be true to this inborn map of life. Humans created civilization, because we thought life would be better if everyone complied with sovereign laws. In terms of material benefits, civilization has succeeded. But depending on laws--not emotional intelligence--to maintain order, has so socially isolated us that reality, as we experience it, is a spiritual wasteland. Unable to emotionally engage in our surroundings, we have no access to the wisdom of human nature, which reveals itself exclusively through feelings in response to one's immediate circumstances. The result of this spiritual alienation is pain. To manage it, we modern humans space ourselves out on beliefs, ideologies, drugs, hope, dreams--and even the promise of science. When those fail to quell the pain, people turn to suicide--the only option left. Shupe's answer is to return to the natural spiritual homes in which Homo sapiens once thrived. But people cannot establish a spiritual home, merely by design or intent. Spiritual homes will eventually form naturally: When enough people become disillusioned with the promises of modern life, they will acquire a new perspective on what life is about. Among spiritually awakened people, a real home is organic. Indeed, for humans to experience a natural sense of emotional and material comfort, a spiritual home--one that is maintained by our emotional intelligence--is the only option that exists.

Instinctual Intelligence

Instinctual Intelligence PDF Author: Theodore J. Usatynski
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780981816722
Category : Evolutionary psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Instinctual Intelligence is the first book that explores the evolution of human instincts. It offers uniquely modern approaches to align the passion and power of our instinctual heritage with the more enlightened possibilities of human life. Get to understand how of our basic instinctual systems- self-protection, social connection, resource gathering, playfulness and sexuality, and survival responses- function in everyday life. Learn how the full expression of instinctual intelligence becomes restricted by the time we reach adulthood. Drawing on leading-edge research in evolutionary neurobiology, clinical psychology, and spiritual development, explore how athletes (Tiger Woods), musicians (Madonna), business leaders (Oprah), and spiritual practitioners (Dalai Lama)- and learn how they achieved mastery in their chosen fields. Each person's instinctual intelligence simultaneously evolves the biological, social, cultural, and spiritual fabric of humanity.

Shadow Sophia

Shadow Sophia PDF Author: Celia E. Deane-Drummond
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198843461
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Through a careful engagement with evolutionary and psychological literature, this study argues that tendencies towards vice are, more often than not, distortions of the very virtues that are capable of making us good.

The Evolution of Adam

The Evolution of Adam PDF Author: Peter Enns
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1493432702
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Can Christianity and evolution coexist? Traditional Christian teaching presents Jesus as reversing the effects of the fall of Adam. But an evolutionary view of human origins doesn't allow for a literal Adam, making evolution seemingly incompatible with what Genesis and the apostle Paul say about him. For Christians who both accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously, this can present a faith-shaking tension. Popular Old Testament scholar Peter Enns offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by false expectations about the biblical texts. In this 10th anniversary edition, Enns updates readers on developments in the historical Adam debate, helping them reconcile Genesis and Paul with current views on evolution and human origins. This edition includes an afterword that explains Enns's own theological evolution since the first edition released.

The Story of the Human Body

The Story of the Human Body PDF Author: Daniel Lieberman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030774180X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
A landmark book of popular science that gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years—with charts and line drawings throughout. “Fascinating.... A readable introduction to the whole field and great on the making of our physicality.”—Nature In this book, Daniel E. Lieberman illuminates the major transformations that contributed to key adaptations to the body: the rise of bipedalism; the shift to a non-fruit-based diet; the advent of hunting and gathering; and how cultural changes like the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions have impacted us physically. He shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning a paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease. And finally—provocatively—he advocates the use of evolutionary information to help nudge, push, and sometimes even compel us to create a more salubrious environment and pursue better lifestyles.